Having described a number of exercises that my athletes perform in the weights room in order to develop the specific strength required to sprint effectively. I thought it would be a natural progression to describe ones that can be used both in an indoor training hall or outside on the infield. These are primarily for the development of acceleration rather than maximum speed as they are of an explosive nature performed over a very short distance. They are also an effective way of aiding the development of co-ordination in the athlete.

Overhead Shot Throw:

This is a tried and tested drill, which is often used as a test for measuring the development of power in athletes along with such disciplines as the Standing Long Jump etc. It is used by many shot putters, as part of their warm up prior to competition specific throwing, and as part of power development training sessions. I have included it in such training sessions as it is a relatively safe exercise, which incorporates the major muscles of the body in an expression of strength and speed, the fact that it also requires a degree of co-ordination is certainly a bonus.

It is important to select the correct weight of shot for the athlete, e.g. the senior female athletes in my squad tend to use the competition weight 4 kg shot. However if one of them were learning the exercise or did not have the strength to move the implement quickly the athlete would be encouraged to use a lighter shot until either/both deficiencies were rectified.

The athlete faces in the opposite direction to where the shot is to be thrown, he/she holds the shot in both hands in front of, but close to the body below waist height with the arms extended. He/she then bends the knee’s into a half squat position then rapidly extends the legs upwards and back, at the same time the arms are swung upwards. When the legs are fully extended with the bodyweight on the balls of the feet, the arms should be fully extended above the body, this is the point where the shot is released i.e. at its highest point above the athlete’s head with the whole body from the feet to the wrists fully extended. Because of the upward and backward momentum of the body, the shot will travel in a high trajectory behind the thrower.

It is very important to ensure a correct technique. If the athlete merely throws the shot upwards without extending backwards the shot may land in the same place from which it was thrown.

A common fault is that the athlete does not extend the arms fully and releases the shot at a point behind the head while the elbows are bent. This will result in the implement being thrown behind the body but towards the ground instead of a high trajectory. This technical deficiency prevents the athlete from fully benefiting from the exercise, as he/she is not fully extending the whole of the body so less power is being generated.

It is a good idea to teach younger athletes this exercise using sponge balls, then progressing to light medicine balls before moving on to hard implements. If mistakes are made e.g. throwing straight upwards instead of behind the body, a soft ball dropping on a child’s head is of no major concern.

Rebound Overhead Shot Throw

This drill is an effective way of developing the conventional overhead throw into a pliometric exercise. The athlete completes the exercise as described in the section on the Overhead Throw, but this is preceded by he/she taking one or two bunny jumps in the opposite direction to which the shot is to be thrown. The athlete upon landing dynamically reverses his/her momentum and performs the overhead shot throw, i.e. upon sinking into the half squat position at the end of the jump he/she immediately extends the legs in order to commence the throw technique.

Underarm Throw/Toss

This throwing drill is an effective one for sprinters, the athlete this time faces the direction he/she is about to throw the shot. As with the previous drill the shot should be held in both hands, the athlete with the legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart, bends the knees and remains in the half squat position. With the arms extended the athlete swings the arms backwards through the legs, then swings them rapidly forward. The shot is released at the last possible moment when the body is pulled forward by the momentum of the arm swing, the athlete should be on the balls of the feet at the moment of release. The throw has been effective when the athlete has no option but to take a few steps forward following release of the shot.

Rebound Underarm Throw/Toss

As with the Overhead Throw the underarm version can be given a pliometric variation. The athlete performs one or two bunny jumps before sinking into the half squat position as the arms swing backwards between the legs the explosively perform the throw.

It is counter productive to perform many jumps prior to the throws, I have settled on two for my athletes. One jump does not provide enough momentum for our needs, but three appears to prevent the athletes from performing the throw at a high enough velocity.

I have developed the Underarm Throw to further develop acceleration. I had seen other squads throw a medicine ball forward and continue the momentum with a sprint for four or five strides, which is an excellent drill. My variation is to split the group into pairs, one athlete performs the underarm throw as hard as possible and follows the medicine ball by sprinting at maximum effort for 10-15 metres. To avoid the possibility of the athlete tripping over the medicine ball, the partner stands at an appropriate distance from the thrower and catches the ball before it bounces. The place to stand will depend upon his/her partner’s ability to throw the ball and his/her rate of acceleration. The catcher may have to apply some nifty footwork to move out of the path of the thrower/sprinter, but providing commonsense prevails it is a safe enough drill. Obviously pairing athletes of similar age/strength/speed is a must for this exercise.

Forward Lunge + Chest Throw

This is simply a two handed throw from a position in front of the chest, in the direction the athlete is facing. It is preceded by a forward lunge exercise to ensure it is a little more dynamic than the standard throw with the feet together. My athletes tend to take two lunge steps forward and then drive upward, throwing the shot by extending the arms as the legs extend upward and forward. It can be made more sprint specific by using the sprint lunge, i.e. the leg is brought underneath the backside before driving forward into the lunge position.

As with the underarm throw this exercise can be performed using a medicine ball and be followed up with a sprint of 5-10metres.

Another variation would be to have a partner throw the ball to the athlete performing the drill who would upon catching the medicine ball immediately chest pass it to the partner. If the throw is performed dynamically and the body extended forward, the athlete can follow the ball by sprinting towards the partner. The athlete who is performing the drill could take up a 3 point starting stance prior to the ball being thrown towards him/her.

The drills in this article are predominately used for the development of explosive power that is specific to the acceleration phase of the 100/200 metres and can be used alone as the main part of a training session. I have used some of them combined in a training unit along with other pliometric work e.g. short distance jumps for acceleration development; or prior to performing jumps over longer distances, which are beneficial in improving reactive strength appropriate to maximum speed development.

About the Author
Phil Gardiner
UKA Level 4 Speed
Northern Division Event Coach – 100/200m
Tyne and Wear County Development Squad Event Coach - Speed
philgcoach@yahoo.com